The Research Says “Choose the Experience” – Travel

With the vacation season in full swing I wanted to spend some time talking about travel, in particular European travel, subset Italy. Of the 308 million-plus citizens in the United States, only 30% have passports versus 41% of Canadians and 71% of Brits. Europeans travel much more than Americans. It seems the art, architecture, food and wine of their neighbors is too good to pass up and despite the economy, 60% of Britons have been to the US.

I’ll admit it took me a while to travel beyond the beltway. We all have our reasons to postpone travel; work, family, time, money and an emotional commitment to travel outside the box. In a recent Mind Over Moneypost, a study by Cornell University cited how we should spend our money to gain the greatest satisfaction and happiness saying that “If you’re conflicted about whether to spend money on a material good (say, a computer) or personal experience (say, a vacation), the research says you’ll get much more satisfaction, and for longer, if you choose the experience”. This view is shared by University of Colorado Boulder assistant professor of psychology Leaf Van Boven who found that when it comes to spending money in the pursuit of happiness, the “good life” may be better lived by doing things rather than by having things.

Regrets of inaction, not taking advantage of the travel experience that was there for the taking is a decision.There will always be a new upgrade, a new model, a new version, a new perceived need to replace. There may not always be an opportunity to take a trip. It has been said that “Material things grow familiar, become obsolete or break. Memories have very long warranties”.